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The Fordyce Letter

Straight Talk for the Recruiting Profession


For Managers

Business Development, Cold Calling, For Managers

“How do I win your business?” Not By Doing What Everyone Else Does

by 3 weeks ago


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Note: Matt Lowney will be speaking at the upcoming Fordyce Forum 2013. His session So You Want to Sell to Me? Here’s How to Do It will offer firm owners and leaders a look at what it takes to get a client’s business and how best to connect with new clients in today’s highly competitive world. Register now at Fordyce Forum 2013.

“How do I win your business?” It seems like a simple enough request, but ultimately it’s a process that most recruiting agencies do not handle well.

In June I will be speaking on this very topic at the Fordyce Forum in Dallas – winning and keeping business from the perspective of the client. As someone who has utilized every variation of third party recruiter, I know they can add tremendous value, but there are three key areas that agencies should focus on improving to make the vendor-client relationship less tenuous. Let me be clear, this is not a beat-up-the-vendor topic. I want to focus on raising the bar across the board for all recruiting professionals.

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For Managers, How-To, The Business of Recruiting

Some Simple Steps to Help You Protect Your Business and Your Assets

by on May 1, 2013


PC Security - freedigital

PC Security - freedigitalEditor’s note: With the conviction of executive recruiter and former Korn/Ferry employee David Nosal, there’s heightened interest on steps owners can take to protect themselves from embezzlement, theft, and the loss of their client and prospet lists, and other intellectual property. Bill Gibbens, an owner and CPA, reviews the internal financial controls every firm owner should consider.

“Internal Controls” are an organization’s structure of work and authority flows, people and management information systems, designed to help the organization accomplish specific goals, and which provide a foundation for preventing and detecting fraud and protecting the organization’s resources.

In the search business our primary assets are: cash, accounts receivable, database, client base, and our people. Internal controls around each of these assets will allow you to sleep at night. Without them or other similar controls you are at risk.

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Business, For Managers, Jeff's On Call!

Track Your Recruiters’ Hours Or You Could End Up Writing One Big Check

by on Apr. 26, 2013


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Jeff,

Thank you for all you do for us in the field!

I have a question regarding tracking time and compensation of recruiters. You are aware that many of us work more than 40 hours a week, probably more like 56, and much is performed away from the office.  

I don’t track my time or that of my recruiters. Should I? 

I read a case brought by a group of recruiters  a year or so ago in which they claimed that although they received a base (draw against commission) and were paid an agreed upon percentage of a fee, that they should also be compensated for the overtime they worked even though a placement was not guaranteed outcome of that work and the time spent was discretionary.

As an owner, should I have recruiters complete timesheets? Should recruiters be paid for all the hours they work? Should researchers be compensated differently then recruiters who have split desks or are out of the office more in a sales/recruiter role? If so, how does one account for the time spent responding to email while watching a movie for five minutes. or taking the 20 minute phone call?

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For Managers

A Checklist to Help You Know If You’re Leading or Just Managing

by on Apr. 2, 2013


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TeamLeadThe business world is full of managers. Even in the face of recent economic-fueled cutbacks and downsizing, managers remain in abundant supply. Yet despite all the management, so many companies remain starved for genuine leadership. That’s because while businesses (budgets, market strategies, production quotas, etc.) need to be managed, employees need to be led.

So stop managing and start leading! Begin by learning what true leadership qualities are. While we’ve all known and admired that “natural-born leader,” more often than not most leadership skills simply lie dormant or undiscovered. If we just open our eyes and look, we can find and develop leadership.

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For Managers, The Business of Recruiting

Here’s Why the World Needs Recruiters

by on Mar. 12, 2013


Adrian Kinnersley

Recruitment can mean different things to different people. There is a plethora of different business models within the staffing industry, so I thought it might be a good idea to define what I believe good recruitment is. This will perhaps put into context why I don’t believe that  LinkedIn — or for that matter any other web-based product — can ever replace the service we provide.

Talent Is Not an Online Commodity

Getting the best possible talent to join your company is not the same as purchasing a product online. Talent has opinions, options, and time constraints. Talent can be unpredictable, irrational, high maintenance, and uncommunicative. A product you buy online will always show up if you have paid the appropriate price and followed the correct purchasing process. A product won’t have any thoughts or feelings that it wants to discuss with a third party. It won’t have any opinions on how well you selected it. It won’t wait for a better company to buy it if it doesn’t like your communication style or your company values. A product won’t consult with family members, professional acquaintances, and even someone it met on the train to provide fresh objections about why they aren’t going to show up at your company.

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Ask Barb, For Managers

How Do I Get My Recruiters Back On the Phone?

by on Feb. 20, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

How do I get my recruiters to get back on the phone? All they do is email and text which is not the best way to build profitable relationships. They tell me I’m old fashioned, but we are not hitting goals set. How do I prove the value of calls?

Steven M., St. Louis, MA

Dear Steven:

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Ask Barb, For Managers

These Two Metrics Made A Difference. Now What?

by on Feb. 13, 2013


Ask Barb

Dear Barb:

My business was inconsistent, sales were up and down and I never could achieve the goals I had set. You spent time with me at the Fordyce Forum during a break, and suggested that I put all my focus on two stats: sendout to placement, and job orders to fill.

We started to use your Sendout Hot Sheet (which has been a lifesaver with all these power outages we’ve been experiencing), and everyone who works for me is now focused on getting candidates in front of hiring authorities daily. The difference it has made in my business over the last 60 days is hard to believe. My question is: What would you advise me to revise next?

Don G., Houston, TX

 Dear Don:

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Business, Business Development, Cold Calling, For Managers, Staffing

If You Want My Business, Here’s What You Need to Do

by on Feb. 11, 2013


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Editor’s note: In a world where corporate recruiting leaders get a call — or more — a day from staffing and search firms pitching their business, how do you get through the noise to land the business? Drawing on his years dealing with recruitment vendors of all types and sizes, Matt will tell you how to reach him and sell him during his workshop at the 2013 Fordyce Forum. 

Try me marketing on billboardStaffing agencies struggle to differentiate their brand message and uniqueness in a sea of competition. In my dealings with staffing agencies, their pitches all begin to sound the same, but they also recognize that the sheer volume of competitors makes it difficult to sound different, if they truly are. In most local markets there are a handful of solid players and a larger number of peripheral staffing firms that tend to create the “noise” (read: sales calls).

Here are my thoughts on being a top staffing agency player in your market:

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Business, For Managers, The Business of Recruiting

Be Prepared: Here’s What You Can Expect At Your Next Client Meeting

by on Jan. 18, 2013


Fraser Hill

Search for talentEditor’s note: The following article was written for corporate recruiters, but it is equally useful for agency owners and account managers. It first appeared on our sister site, ERE.net. The author is currently a corporate recruiter. For most of his career, he has been an independent recruiter and an agency owner,. He recently opened a new search firm.

As an in-house recruiter or HR professional, have you ever been in a meeting with a recruitment supplier and been very impressed with their pitch and excited about the results that are going to follow, only to be completely let down by their performance? It won’t surprise you to read that you’re not the only one.

We all know that for every good recruiter who walks the earth, there are others who don’t quite make the grade. Many sell a value proposition that isn’t being followed up with action — recruiters who purport to headhunt and cold-call top people in the market, but actually only advertise their clients’ vacancies. As a client of these external recruiters you need to be in a position to make an accurate assessment of their worth — not just by what they tell you, but what they actually prove.

Many contingency-level recruitment firms haven’t evolved their value proposition as technology has evolved over the past 10 years. As in-house recruiters have been able to catch up with doing direct sourcing through job boards and social media, external suppliers should be getting more sophisticated in their approach to maintain a value proposition worthy of the fees that are charged — mapping out competitors, gathering referrals, building expertise and relationships in their chosen niche, for example. Too many contingency firms are still charging 15% to 25% for doing nothing more than advertising a poorly written or cut and pasted job spec; that’s just not good enough.

Vetting Your Agency

So here are some questions to ask your suppliers next time you invite them in for an update or suppler appraisal.

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For Managers

For the Rookie Account Manager: Qualifying a Job

by on Jan. 15, 2013


Boot_Camp

One of the toughest responsibilities for new account managers in the recruiting world is ensuring your recruiters are spending their time wisely. In other words, are they focusing their time on jobs that will make both of you money?

Qualifying a job is always a tough task for an account manager. Some of the ideal questions we ask ourselves can only be answered as we move deeper into the process with the client. Here are a few qualifiers that all account managers should be able to answer when they put a job in front of their recruiters:

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